Invisible
by xMetalGurlx
Summary: Vanessa Ramirez is the new girl of her school. Her job in life is to protect her family and help them grow. When she goes to school for the first time, she meets kids who try to befriend but is afraid that she might hurt them.
1. Chapter 1

I Own No Rights To Hey Arnold! Craig Bartlett and Nickelodeon Does.

The sun was starting to make its descent on the horizon, setting the sky on fire with reds and oranges and pinks. A light breeze stirred a young girl's long, dark hair as she neared her destination: a small store in the city of Hillwood. She ran up the wall of the store with the sound of her boots, and peered inside the glass door to see two employees getting ready to leave for home. A satisfied grin spread across her face. _Excellent._ She thought. _As soon as those two morons leave, I'll be ready._ But it took so long for them to leave. She was ready to turn around and leave, but they finally walked out the entrance door, locking it. The girl hid behind a trashcan, and watched them finally walk down the streets. She started taking deep breaths as she rounded the perimeter of the gas store. There was a large air vent at the base of the wall. As quietly as the vent would allow, she plucked out the loose screws that hardly secured the crate covering the entrance. She then crouched down and slowly eased herself into the open vent. Although it was small for an adult to go inside, a nine year old can easily fit in there such as the girl. Once she reached to the other side, she glanced all around her, trying to see past the aisles and any sign of life. She sighed in relief when nothing was there. But she froze as a bathroom door opened to reveal a customer stomping out. What is he doing here? She backed away quickly to let him pass the vent.

"Damn, they totally forgot I was here," he sighed in frustration and he unlocked the door, then left. He forgot to lock them again. The girl just rolled her eyes in annoyance and then began dashing between some aisles and peeking down others. After some moments of silence, she was satisfied that no one else was inside the store. As she strolled further into the store, she snatched food and drinks off shelves so it could feed her family. The point of this whole crime was because of her family, not just for herself. Her mother, Beatrice, is too lazy to get a job causing them to not afford any food. She cooled herself down as she felt herself slightly angered. After _stealing_ all the food she needed, the girl climbed back to the air vent and left her destination. She began strolling down the streets during the night, walking away from strangers who walked right in front of her. They even casted annoyed glares at her when they thought she was the one who was walking in front of them!

One night, a teen tried mugging all the food she had in a bag. The girl did not had any muscles to defend herself but she did had a pocket knife in her pocket. Pfft, that was probably his worst experience since she cut his left arm opened and had to get stitches. But that's what she had to do is defend herself from strangers who dared touched her. When she realized it was suddenly night time, the girl began running down the streets. She stopped when she was outside by her door of her house. She hated it here more than anywhere else. Lots of crime, and it was filthy here. No wonder high class people looked down upon them. The door opened, letting rays of light hitting the ground. The person who stood outside was her fifteen year old brother, Alex. He wore a green sweater with black skinny jeans and his hair was a bit more messy than it usually is.

"So, how did it go Vanessa?" He asked her. _Vanessa_ shrugged and walked inside her house.

"It went great, I guess. Nothing happen really. It's always the same routine." She answered back, putting all the food she stole on a counter in the small kitchen. Alex only nodded his head, not satisfied with her answer.

"I'm worried for you, because of that incident that happened several months ago Vanny," He muttered, putting his head on the counter. Vanessa felt her blood boiled in anger. _Did he not trust me or something?_ Before she can snap at him, Alex said something that frightened her.

"But that's not really a problem right now, Vanny. You're starting school tomorrow." He left the kitchen and walked upstairs to his bedroom.

"Wait, what? How? Why am I starting school?" She started panicking. Vanessa has never been to school her whole life. The person who's like a teacher to her is her twenty-five year old sister, Sol. But since she got married back in July, Sol is moving to Beverly Hills, the place her father lives in. That probably pissed her mother off even more, because it's like Sol is leaving them with nothing. Well, if she get out of bed, then they wouldn't be in this situation! Vanessa began chasing her brother upstairs to ask him more questions. All he said was, "Sol signed us up." He slammed his door shut in anger and left her in awe and shock. School tomorrow? She wasn't ready! What school is she going to and how will the kids react to her? The clothes she wore were band shirts, and jeans that Sol and her husband bought for her and siblings. They'll probably seem strange to the kids, but Vanessa didn't care what they'll think. When she does go to school, Vanessa isn't going to make friends whatsoever. Her hatred towards others is too strong.

Vanessa stumbled downstairs to put all the food in the covers and fridge. Great, now she has to steal cereal for breakfast now?

Vanessa stood outside by her door with her two siblings, chewing gum. _Jose_ , her six year old brother, was walking in circles mumbling something in Spanish as he waited for the bus to pick them up. Alex leaned himself against the brick wall with a scowl on his face while _Sandra_ , her thirteen year old sister, just sat on the stoop daydreaming about how her day was going to go.

"This day is going to fucking suck," Sandra snapped, standing up from her place. Alex shot her an angry glare.

"Language, _puta._ " He growled.

"Whatever. This is your fault too, you know. You agreed with Sol at the table and now we have to put up with everyone's _shit_ at school. From what I heard, there's always drama," Sandra hissed as she turned away from her siblings. Vanessa rolled her eyes in annoyance. Sandra and Alex always had something to fight about. Whether it was about board game rules or anything like that, they always fought. Sandra blamed Alex for being one of the reasons why their _father_ left them even though Beatrice was the one to blame.

"Because I know it will be good! We actually need education, so we'll be better people in the future! You think I want to turn out to be just like our _mother?_ " Alex snarled at her. This made Sandra even more angry.

"We had Sol to educate us, you moron!" She shot back.

"Well, Sol is gone so we have to go to school goddamn it! At least Vanny and I do something to help the fucking family unlike you, Sandra!" He cursed. Vanessa glanced up as she heard her own name.

"Yeah, but what you two idiots are doing is a crime! At least try find a job instead of hurting other people. All you two is just steal, mug, and murder…" Sandra whispered the three words. The last one was what made Vanessa snap

"I am NOT a murderer! What made you think that!?" She screamed. Her eyes were shut tight and had her fists clenched. After a several seconds of silence, she opened her eyes to see why they suddenly had their mouths shut. Everyone was staring at her in confusion.

"Bus!" Jose pointed towards a large vehicle, that was heading their way. Everyone turned their heads to the bus and Vanessa felt fear running through her. If someone was to do something to her, she had her own pocket knife in her pocket to defend herself. Vanessa gripped her files tightly as she walked inside the bus with her siblings following her. Jose wasn't used to the loud noises, so he held his fists up his ears to cover them. Sandra and Alex were just giving each other death glares. Some of the kids on the seats stared at the family confusedly. _Who are these people?_

Vanessa desperately looked for a seat as all her siblings found one. She saw an empty seat and sat there as fast as she can. Two boys on the other side shot her glances and started snickering. One of them had a bowl cut hairstyle and wore glasses. The other kid had darker skin, and his front tooth was missing. If they don't shut up, then she might have to knock out another tooth from his. Vanessa looked out her window and watched her neighborhood disappear from a distance.

"Hi. What's your name?" A kid came up to her, and had his hand held towards her face. He had this football-head shaped head, and his eyes were bright green. For some odd reason, he was wearing a skirt with blue jeans underneath it. He was pretty weird-looking, but at least he's being friendly. Vanessa didn't really care, so she glanced away from him in annoyance. When was he going to leave her alone? He finally had his hand down and his smile collapsed as her face was filled with hostility. _I know he was just being nice, but I'm definitely not used to people putting their hands in my face. It's pretty annoying, to be honest._ This day better turn out to be great or else, she'll never go back to school.

"Hmm…" The principal at the desk in front of Vanessa muttered as he was looking through her information. He flipped pages, and had his pink tongue stuck out. Once in a every second, he would glance up at her with a curious look. He didn't really look young at all. What was his name? Vanessa glanced at the name tag that sat on his desk. Principal _Wartz_.

"Why is it that you never came here before?" He suddenly asked, breaking the silence. Vanessa didn't answer, but only glare at him with hostile eyes. "Well, it's nice to have you here, uh. Vanessa, is it? You're going to like it here, to be honest." He continued on. Vanessa began to feel annoyed.

"Yeah, I will alright. So, uh. Is anyone going to show me around the school or something? Because I've never been to a school before and um, I might need some help. Cause… I never been here before," she asked breathing hard. Being here was making her panic. Principal Wartz only shrugged and continued on reading her information. _Help me, you idiot._

"So…" He smugly said, grinning a bit. "You used to be _Daddy's Little Girl_ , huh?" Vanessa froze and felt her blood turn like ice. _Is he taunting me on purpose_? "But he left you. Now I can see why, huh? Your mother has no job, and doesn't have enough money to feed you kids. I can't _blame_ him. We were actually good friends. Meeting with each other every Saturday, playing golf on Sundays, and drinking coffee on my breaks. But your mother came and ruined everything. He told me that he was _sick_ of caring for you without her help and left you guys heartbroken," he chuckled to himself at the end. Vanessa was about to pull out her pocket knife and slice his throat open. But she was not a murderer. Not like what Sandra told Alex.

"Okay! Well, I read your information and I can see you're not used to a lot of people. I'll have you join a more lenient teacher," Principal Wartz walked out of his chair, towards the door with papers in his hand.

"I can handle a strict teacher. I'm no _coward_ ," Vanessa snapped back at him, angered slightly. The principal ignored her, continuing walking down the school halls. _Man, is every teacher this ignorant?_ She thought in annoyance. Vanessa looked around the school in awe. It had stairs that go all the way up, and it was very bright out there. But why did they had lockers? _I thought Junior High Students would only have lockers._ The sound of Wartz's footsteps stopped as they came upon a door that had the name written, _Mr. Simmons._ Vanessa's eyes widened, and touched the name.

"Don't touch that!" Wartz swiped her hand away, scolding. Vanessa flinched. He pounded on the door which caused a silence in there. The door opened to reveal a man with a green, brown sweater with brown pants standing there. A smile spread across his face as he saw Vanessa standing there although he was sort of confused. He whispered something to the kids in there, and shut it lightly as he stepped out.

"Uh, beg your pardon Principal...Wartz. But can I ask? Who is this?" He asked with a shy smile. Principal Wartz pushed Vanessa to the side, nearly making her fall. She growled in annoyance and anger.

"This is Vanessa Ramirez, a new student from the _wrong side of the city_. She'll be joining your class for the rest of the year," Wartz introduced Vanessa, pushing her forward to the teacher. He only gave a friendly smiled at her.

"Well, I'm sure this is exciting news for the class. Um, welcome Vanessa. I hope you make yourself comfortable in this room since everyone is soo crazy about new students." Mr. Simmons told her with a friendly grin. He was ready to open the door for her, but Wartz grabbed the knob the stop him from opening it. Mr. Simmons can only stare at him in confusion. "Uhh, what's the matter?" He wondered, slightly annoyed by this behavior.

"Mr. Simmons, Vanessa has never been to a school in her whole life and I don't think she's comfortable being here just yet. All I can have you do is please keep an eye on her for a few months and let's see if she'll make any progress of making friends," Principal Wartz added. Vanessa glared at him. _I don't need friends! I'm able to take of myself._

"Oh, I understand. Well thank you for letting me know about this. Hopefully you'll be able to feel comfortable instead of feeling afraid. I'm going to make sure you feel _special_ for the rest of the school year. Fourth grade will be great!" Mr. Simmons answered back and looked down at the girl who stood stiffly in front of him. Vanessa can only stare at him with eyes glinted like those of a dark animal. The smile on Mr. Simmon's face was slowly fading away as he stared at her face. _Why does she look so angry?_ Wartz glanced at Vanessa to Mr. Simmons, then jog-walk back to his office relief that he was finished with her.

"So are you ready to learn, Vanessa?" Mr. Simmons wondered, throwing his fist in the air. Vanessa can only shrug at him. She tapped her toe on the floor as she waited for him to open the classroom door. Although she didn't want any friends, Vanessa did not want to be judged as the bad guy by other kids. The kids in her neighborhood were afraid of her because they know about her crimes, then they'll label her as "The Bad Girl." Mr. Simmons felt reluctant about having this student in her class. He was afraid of what the other kids might think of her. "Um, well I'll be out in a minute. I just need to talk to the class first, then I'll chose a seat for you." The teacher walked inside the classroom where it was filled with silence. The door lightly closed. Vanessa stood outside of the door, listening into the conversations within as she heard the teacher mention her name. They seem to get louder every second which frightened Vanessa. Then finally, the door opened to reveal Mr. Simmons. "Come on in, Vanessa." He whispered with a smile spread across his face. He pulled the door open wider, and her body stiffened. The anxiety she felt was replaced with fear. Everyone was staring at her with curiosity shown in their eyes. A girl by the windows had an unfriendly gaze in her eyes, her teeth gritted. But Vanessa didn't really care what she thought of her. She just wanted to get the heck out of there.

She took a step inside, Mr. Simmons pulled her inside. She stopped in the middle of the room, looking at each of the kids. They didn't really said anything, but could only stare at her.

It was _silent._

 _Why are they staring at me like that? Have they ever seen a new student before?_ Mr. Simmons closed the door behind her, causing Vanessa to jump in surprise.

"Everyone, this is Vanessa Ramirez. Please welcome her and make her feel comfortable," Mr. Simmons introduced her to the whole class. He stood behind Vanessa, putting his hands on her shoulders. She tried to shake them off, but made no effort whatsoever. Everyone yelled out, "Hi Vanessa" with waving hands. This only made her cringe in annoyance. "Vanessa, you'll take a seat neeaar… _Helga._ " He pointed towards a girl who had two blonde pigtails with a pink bow on her head, a pink dress, and a one eyebrow over her eyes. _Helga_ glared back at Vanessa. Vanessa walked slowly towards her seat, and sat there. They were still staring at her as if they feel uncomfortable having her there.

"Um… Hi," Vanessa greeted wiggling her fingers. After saying that, everyone turned their heads towards Mr. Simmons who was ready to teach. "Now Vanessa, we were getting ready for some math problems but since you're here, we'll be getting to know more about you. Anyone can ask you any question. So if you have a question, raise your hand." Mr. Simmons wondered. No one raised their hand except for one girl who had short black hair. She wore a red sweater with a white collar and black tight pants. She looked pretty fancy, to be honest.

"Yes, _Rhonda_? What do you want to ask her?" Mr. Simmons grinned, pointing towards the girls. _Rhonda_ smugly smiled and stood up.

"No offense or anything, but may I ask where you got your clothes? It looks you might have borrowed it from _Oskar._ " Rhonda insulted her which caused some of the classmates to snicker from the insult. Vanessa rolled her eyes, trying not to let the remark get to her. _Way to start a day._ Mr. Simmons narrowed his eyes at Rhonda.

"What? You said any question, right? So I asked her a question." Rhonda started to giggle.

"How do you know a woman is wearing tights? Her knees swell up when she farts. I have a really good fashion sense but I'm just too poor to prove it." Vanessa insulted her back. Rhonda stopped laughing, and made everyone else in the room to laugh even harder. Mr. Simmons just stared at the class with disappointment.

Vanessa laid back, and smiled in satisfaction. This day might go well after all.

Not my 1st Hey Arnold! story. But this is just a story for my O.C Vanessa Ramirez. :) I don't know how many chapters I'm using this is just chapter 1. And my How Snakes and Bubbles Fell In Love, I might continue that. I just need to brainstorm it. Well, hope you enjoy this chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

I Do Not Own Any Rights To Hey Arnold! Craig Bartlett and Nickelodeon Does.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Vanessa waited impatiently by her own locker as Mr. Simmons was helping her put her stuff in Locker 157.

"Well, I hope you made yourself very comfortable these past three hours. Now it's going to be recess time in a couple of minutes and I think this might be the right time to make some _new_ friends," He told her, breathing heavily as he shoved a heavy book in there. Vanessa rolled her eyes in reply.

"Look, I don't need friends. To be honest, I don't know what the big deal of frrieends is. People can take care of themselves without anybody else's help. I mean, life isn't always about happiness, sunshine, or any crap like that. Life basically means to survive out there in the real world, protecting your family, and not letting anybody get in your life. That's my opinion," Vanessa replied. Mr. Simmons closed her locker and thought about it.

"But Vanessa. You can always stay positive in life. Life is sometimes dangerous, but there's more than just caring for your family. You can have fun with your family, go to the Bowling Alley with your friends, watch fireworks on the 4th of July, and so on. God put us on Earth for a reason is so we can live our life the fullest. Why would you rather be stuck in a house, worrying about your family all the time? That's not fun, it's just boring" Mr. Simmons cringed as he mention the name of this…. _God. Yeah, except I don't believe in God._ What Mr. Simmons doesn't understand is that her family is going through things he hasn't been through before.

"Well. That's everything, I guess. When the bell rings, you can finally head out to recess. And hopefully you _DO_ make friends" The teacher grinned and started walking back to the classroom. Vanessa let out a deep sigh, then leaned on the wall sliding down to sit down till the bell rings. The day was going well so far. But no one really talked to her that much which is alright. But everyone seemed afraid of her. She caught some kids casting glances at her which it probably doesn't mean anything, but still. No one in this school even knows who she is or what her life is like. They know nothing. After waiting for a minute, Vanessa spotted _Helga_ and a Japanese girl with glasses and a blue sweater walking towards her. She knew who Helga was, but did not know the girl beside her. The teacher should have introduced the whole class to her so she wouldn't have a hard time remembering everyone's names. When Helga stood in front of her, Vanessa looked to her right and tried her best to avoid the scowling blonde's eyes.

"What's your deal?" Helga blurted out, her voice echoing in the halls. Vanessa glared at her with fierce eyes, annoyance crawling up her back. "Seriously? Embarrassing Princess in front of the whole class? What is your problem?" She continued on. Her voice was growing more harsh.

Vanessa chuckled. "Well, she was the one who started the whole thing by making fun of my clothes and style, so I had to do something to stand up for myself. You'd probably do the same thing when someone insults you for being poor too, would you? Hmm? End of discussion. I'm not going to fight with you," she snapped back at the blonde. Helga and the girl beside her were taken back by Vanessa's tone.

"Yeah, but causing the whole class to laugh at her? That's pretty harsh." The Japanese girl added in. This caused Vanessa to be even more angry.

"You _morons_ laughed too. So why are you complaining to me?" Vanessa spat at her.

"Hmm. Right. Whatever. Come on, _Phoebe._ We have better things to do than to talk to this _jerk_ ," Helga stomped away with _Phoebe_ closely by her side. Finally they left! Vanessa was ready to throw a punch towards them. Mostly Helga. She had no idea what her problem was, yelling at her, but if she's going to act that way for the rest of the year then Vanessa might as well use her weapon on her. The bell finally rang for recess and the school was poured with kids running towards the doors. Vanessa sighed and walked more slowly. A few kids shoved her which caused annoyance. This school seemed to have no respect for others whatsoever.

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Vanessa walked around in circles, thinking carefully about her plan for tonight. Instead of going through the store again, she was thinking about asking kids for their lunch money and saving it. Alex is currently trying to find a job to work at so they can make money, but they keep rejecting him because they're not looking for new people. It's very discouraging for him, to be honest. Vanessa felt her eyes growing heavy and they start to glaze as she imagined her family having a hard time in the future. She and her siblings could be taken away from their home when Beatrice isn't supporting them the right way. And right now, they're all angry with Sol for leaving with her new husband. Sol was a mother figure to them all and seemed to support them ever since they were young. But now with her gone, they're going through a very hard time.

Vanessa sat on a bench that was close to the brick wall of the school and observed every kid who were playing with each other. They all seemed like very happy kids who didn't have to suffer like she did. When she sighed heavily, a shadow covered her whole body. Confused by this, she looked up and saw seven or eight kids hovering over her. Three of them were Phoebe, Helga, and Rhonda whom she disliked more than anything. But the rest were guys. One of them had a tall hi-top and he wore a red shirt with a 33. He had darker skin than the rest of them. Vanessa heard someone calling his name when they were heading outside. It was… _Gerald?_ The boy beside him was a lot taller with a huge honker nose, wearing a dull green shirt with blue jeans. Vanessa had to admit it, his southern drawl accent was kind of funny. The other kid was more plump, a one eyebrow over his eyes and he wore a blue cap. _Jeez, what is up with the one eyebrow in school? Is it suddenly popular among the kids?_ The kid next to him wore a black leather jacket, Beatle boots, a green backwards cap, and his hair were nothing but strings? His nose was protruding from his forehead which kind of frightened Vanessa. The last kid was the same person Vanessa encountered on the bus this morning. He seemed friendly, but that doesn't mean she was going to befriend him.

"Hey, we noticed that you were hanging out by yourself," The Football Face brightly blurted out while the kids around him glanced at him. Vanessa raised her eyebrow.

"Yeah, so? It doesn't mean I feel lonely. I'm just here, because I'd rather be by myself." She answered back, not looking at him. But they didn't gave up so easily. The boy obviously wanted her to hang out with them. But why?

"Why? Ya rather be lonely than hang out with all of us at the same time?" The tall, lanky boy wondered, throwing his hands in the air. Vanessa cringed in irritation. Man, everyone is so annoying in this school…

"It doesn't bother me, to be honest. All I have in my life is my brothers and sisters. I don't care if people hate me or not in this school, 'cause I hate people too." She replied back to him. Everyone exchanged glances with each other trying to contain their laughter. Vanessa was confused by this, but she ignored them.

"Well, have fun wit that." The lanky boy laughed, causing the boys around him to snicker.

"No, _Stinky_ stop," The Football Face defended her. _Stinky_? What kind of name was that? That should not be his real name. What kind of idiot would name their own child _Stinky_? "Look, you can't just be lonely and not have any friends. That wouldn't be fun," he told her with a smile. Vanessa felt herself getting annoyed by everyone. She wasn't used to having strangers reason with her for a stupid reason.

"Look," she finally said, standing up. Rhonda backed away in fear. " _Arnold_ , is it? I know you're being nice. But I already told Mr. Simmons this. I _don't_ need friends. I'm not feeling lonely whatsoever and I'm not upset by the idea of not having friends. All what matters to me is my family and protecting them. Life isn't always about having fun. It's not an opinion either. It's a fact. The world is _cruel_. That's why people die just in a second because they're too happy to see what's happening around them. Just scram, so I can… Be in my own thoughts." she finally let it all out. Helga who stood by _Arnold_ furrowed her eyebrow and her face was now filled with hatred and anger. Okay, that's it. Vanessa was already fed up about being this _stupid_ school and she doesn't want Helga to make it even worse than it is now.

"What's the matter? Can't handle the truth?" Vanessa smirked at the blonde.

"Yeah, I can handle the truth. Your fact is right. But you're wrong about _not_ staying positive in life," Helga spat at the Hispanic girl.

"Yeah, what's up with that? We're not allowed to have fun in life? That's stupid!" The boy with the green cap exclaimed. Vanessa just rolled her eyes and shook her head in disbelief.

"Whatever. I'm not going to say anything else, you morons." Vanessa spun around and walked away from the kids. But Helga wasn't finished with her. The blonde ran in front of her with the other kids following slowly.

"I don't know what your deal is, but just because you're new here doesn't mean you get to treat us like crap!" She snapped. Some of the kids who were nearby got curious of what was going on, so they walked over to them with grins on their faces. Arnold, being the nice guy, pushed Helga lightly away from Vanessa who had her fists clenched.

"Just because you're sooo confident in yourself doesn't mean you have to boss and bully everyone," Helga continued on which caused Vanessa to shudder in anger.

"But you boss and bully everyone around," the boy in the green cap blurted out which kind of saved her.

"Shut it, _Sid_!" Helga hissed. _Sid_ backed away in fear. Vanessa was startled by the tone of her voice. She just shook her head and continued on walking. But Helga just didn't know when to stop. She taunted her even more. That's when Vanessa snapped.

"Look, I'm not going to argue with you anymore Helga. Just drop it already and leave me alone, you brat. _End of discussion!_ " Vanessa snapped with fierce eyes. Everyone was startled by the tone she just used on the blonde. No one in the school has ever ended an argument with Helga just like that before. Clearly Vanessa was the type of person that no one should be messing with including Helga. The girl even looked strong enough to shove a kid into a brick wall. After ending that argument, she managed to escaped from the kids and ignored everyone for the rest of the day to be in her own thoughts. No matter how hard they tried to insult her, their words aren't going to get to her whatsoever.

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She didn't take the bus, so Vanessa decided to walk back home. The kids at school had put her in a bad mood for the rest of the day causing her to throw objects at her bedroom walls. Alex had to come in there to calm her down. Jose started to freak out about it. Okay, maybe the words did got to her head.

"My God Vanessa, chill the fuck out." Sandra soon came in with a scowling look.

" _Quiete_! How 'bout you try going to Elementary School when NO ONE WILL LEAVE YOU ALONE!" She screeched, her voice echoing in the room.

"You just learned that? Have you ever read a fucking book or watch t.v? Of course there's some idiots who won't leave you alone. Better get used to it, because it's going to stay with you forever." Sandra explained with a smirk. Alex was getting angry with Sandra's kind of language now. Vanessa only narrowed her icy eyes in response.

"Don't give me that look. You knew that it was going to happen. Fuckers who steal from people are going to be judged and look down upon by other people. And look what happen." Sandra continued on, trying to make her even more angry on purpose. She finally had enough of her attitude, so she threw a sneaker at Sandra's thigh who yelped in response.

"At least I only steal, so I can feed the family!" Vanessa snarled, clenching her fist.

"GET A JOB! You and Alex are basically giving us a bad name! You don't see me doing it, huh? We're kids, for Christ's sake! We don't need to be out on the fucking streets stealing things from people. Has mama ever taught you that stealing is bad? Hmm? Didn't think so!" Sandra screeched. She leaned closer to Vanessa with her teeth gritted. Jose, who heard the whole fight, stumbled upstairs to see what was going on but Alex had to shoo him away since this might get serious or even dangerous.

"No, because Mama is never there for us," Vanessa hissed. "NEVER! Plus, Alex tried getting a job in some places, but they keep rejecting him. Alex just received a letter and it said we might lose our home! That's why we need to steal money from people at night, so we can pay for our bills! And all you're doing is complaining because we got rid of cable! The reason why we did this is so we can save money to pay for bills and buy food." She stood on her bed, ready to smack her sister across the face.

"Pfft. Maybe you should start earning some money by being a prostitute," Sandra laughed. This finally caused Alex to snap in anger.

"That's enough, SANDRA! Don't talk to your little sister like that!" Alex shouted at the thirteen year old girl who only stuck out her tongue in response. "If you're just going to stand there and cuss at Vanessa like that, then GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE! Do something useful and help the family for once," He snarled at her. Sandra furrowed her eyebrows and left them finally. Vanessa sat on her bed with tears welling up her eyes. _Why does Sandra hate us so much?_ "Look, Vanny. Don't listen to Sandra. She's just… being stupid right now. I'm going to talk to her downstairs. Plus I think you need some fresh air," He noticed that her hair was messy and sweat was dripping down her red face. He brushed some of them away, causing her to flinch in anger.

"I don't care. She shouldn't be treating us like crap when you and I are trying to take care of her and Jose. Unlike _Mama_ … So how was your day at school?" She suddenly asked.

Alex looked up and answered, "Hmm. It was good. Made some new friends, the teachers really liked me, and… It was a great day." Vanessa narrowed her eyes at him. She knew he was lying.

"The truth, Alex." She mumbled. He sighed heavily and flipped his hair to the right.

"Fine.. I DID made new friends. Some of them were jerks, but most were nice. But my day went down the drain, because I got into a fight with one of the jocks." He added the last part with a snarl and turned around.

"What? Why? What happened?" Vanessa leaped off her bed, and stood beside him with a curious look.

"Hmm. Well, he knew that I was poor so he started to make fun of my clothes, and said that all Mexicans were not intelligent because they don't work." His fists were now clenched as he told the whole story. Vanessa felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. _How dare he accuse us of being stupid!_ That's why she hated society, because no one seemed to mind their business and think it's alright to accuse something of someone.

"But whatever, I'm going to make supper. What do ya want?" Alex asked her. Vanessa just rolled her eyes and left the room. "Hey, where you going?" He shouted out.

"I'm going to the swamps by Hillwood to cool down, jeez. You don't need to hear everything that goes on in my life." Vanessa snapped at him, then left the house.

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Snapping at Alex back at the house wasn't what she had in mind for today. Vanessa sat on a log near a swamp with trees staring down at her. Watching the frogs and other creatures were somewhat entertaining to Vanessa since she had passion in creatures such as snakes. Although, there wasn't any snakes around here for some reason. _Snap, crack._ Vanessa turned her head towards where the sound was happening and saw a girl with blonde six braids protruding from her head. She had a darker skin tone than Vanessa, and her eyes were hazel. This girl was from her class, of course. Why the heck is she wearing a black skirt in the humid woods? The green sweater probably wasn't going to help her stay dry in the swamp. By the looks of it, she's going to go in the water and possibly catch some frogs or something else since she has a net in her right hand. There was a name tag on her sweater that read:

 _Nadine_.

"Hi, Vanessa." She shyly greeted her, waving. Vanessa tried to ignore her, but couldn't help it and waved back. Nadine seemed to be the type of person who gets along with everyone. But she'll probably fail to get along with Vanessa. She walked straight into the swamp without even cringing or screeching in disgust. Vanessa was surprised by this, because usually when other girls touch something so wet they either cry like babies. She couldn't believe that she found a girl who was just like her. Vanessa crawled across the log and observed the blonde, as she caught a beetle in her hand.

"You're not scared of that?" Vanessa blurted out. _What was she doing? She didn't know the girl that well!_ Nadine smiled politely and shook her head.

"Nope. Not really. I've been a bug lover since I was three. To be honest, I don't really remember being afraid of bugs ever in my life," Nadine mumbled back to the Hispanic girl who just sat there, staring at the creature in her hand. Wow, Vanessa really admired her love of bugs. But that doesn't mean she was going to befriend her though.

"How 'bout you?"

Vanessa snapped back to reality when she realized Nadine was staring at her back. "Wait, what?"

"Do _you_ like bugs? I mean, you're just sitting there watching all the dragonflies flutter around and the frogs hopping on each other. So you must like nature." Nadine told her, the net sitting on her shoulder. "My friend, _Sid_ comes here to catch frogs with me, then talk about what we want to do with animals as we get older." She smiled.

"Oh," was the only thing Vanessa said. Right now, she was feeling kind of uncomfortable with Nadine being there.

"Oh, and there's this one time we-" She began, but Vanessa cut her off by putting her hand up.

"Look, Nadine. I know you're being friendly and everything. But I, want to be left alone right now." Vanessa mumbled, turning around with her eyes lying on the mud beneath her. Offended, but not angry, Nadine nodded her head sulkily and walked slowly away from her. But Vanessa didn't had time for other people's feelings right now. She didn't need friends whatsoever.

"Hmm. It's strange that a Rhino Beetle is here. I thought they lived in more hotter places," Nadine mumbled to herself as she held a large black beetle inside of her palm. Vanessa was shocked. She has never seen a Rhino Beetle before, so she leaped off the log and ran over towards the blonde with curiosity replacing the boredness shown in her eyes that was just there a minute ago. She stared at the creature twitching its wings underneath. In her own opinion, he's very beautiful.

"Wow. Do you think you should take him to Hillwood Nature Center?" Vanessa suddenly asked, her eyes widened. Nadine glanced at her, surprised that she was actually asking a question that had nothing to do with leaving her alone or something like that.

"That's exactly what I was about to do since I volunteer taking care of animals on Thursdays which is today. I'm really excited and shock at the same time. Can't wait to show him to my dad at the HNC!" Nadine happily exclaimed, putting the creature in a small box with holes in them. "Well, see ya tomorrow Vanessa. Enjoy your night." Nadine smiled. She tramped on the muddy ground with the equipment in her hands. Vanessa thought about following her, because Nadine was a very interesting person to her. She has never met someone who had some things in common with her, although they were WAY different. Way _more_ different. Even though she wanted to remain alone by protecting her family, she's reconsidering making friends with Nadine.

"Nadine, wait!" She called sprinting after her. Nadine spun around with a confused look.

"What is it, Vanessa?" She wondered.

"I'm sorry if I seemed rude earlier and I apologize for starting fights in school today. It's just well… It's kind of personal. But yeah, I want to walk with you to the HNC." Vanessa answered back, smiling a little. Nadine raised her eyebrow, thinking about what she just said. Now she knew why Vanessa was like the she is. Vanessa glared deep into the hazel brown eyes and saw a hint of fear flashing.

"S-sure, Vanessa. I tried getting Rhonda to come with me last week and she said no. I guess you're the second person who would like to come with me." She replied back, looking at the ground.

"Who's the first?" Vanessa furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

" _Sid_." She mumbled back, her cheeks turning rosy pink.

"Ahh, I see." Vanessa giggled, but stopped.

"Heh, yep. Well we better get going." Nadine mumbled walking away from the swamps, her equipment pushing against each other. Vanessa soon followed with a smile plastered on her face. "Tomorrow, we're suppose to be hanging out at Gerald Field with the rest of the gang," Nadine suddenly said. Vanessa snapped her head.

"Wait, the rest of the gang? I… You're in a gang?" Vanessa exclaimed, startling Nadine. Alex was going to join a gang soon which frightened Vanessa more than anything. Although she knew why he did it.

"No, Vanessa. That's not what I mean." Nadine laughed. "I meant that I'm joining my friends to hang out with my friends and have fun. We pretty much do that to play baseball and do other stuff. I'm _not_ in a gang, gang whatsoever." She tried to calm the Hispanic girl down when she started to freak out.

"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just that… Well, I don't understand how friends work by using words like "gang." I pretty much use the different definition." Vanessa closed her eyes sadly.

"It's okay, Vanessa. I know that you were homeschooled. Mr. Simmons and me were having a discussion about you during recess. I understand why you're… _bad_." She whispered the last part. Vanessa narrowed her eyes at her, but the blonde was already turning away. "So, are you going to hang out with us or not?" She asked.

"Yeah, I guess." Vanessa shrugged, but facepalmed herself. _Gran_. She thought. _This wasn't what I was planning whatsoever. Now I have someone I barely know on my side._ Although Nadine DID learn things about her, she doesn't know what Vanessa does to people during the night and does not know anything about her past. And hopefully it stays that way with everyone else, because she might be considered _dangerous_ to everyone else.

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Authors note: Here's chapter 2. :) Encountering Helga wasn't what Vanessa had in mind lmao. Chapter 3 is Vanessa trying to make friends, but having a hard time since she really didn't met anyone else besides her family. There IS a reason why she doesn't want anyone though.


	3. Chapter 3

I Don't Own No Rights to Hey Arnold! Craig Bartlett and Nickelodeon Does!

"Where the fuck have you been," came Beatrice's voice when Vanessa first walked in the house. Her mother stood in front of her with angry, piercing eyes. The black circles around her eyes were quite noticeable and her once beautiful brown hair is now messy and gray hair becoming visible. The woman who was in her late 40's is wearing a red robe with undies underneath them. Alex emerged in the background with fear shown in his eyes. They both knew what was coming. Sandra and Jose, on the other hand, were nowhere found whatsoever. Alex probably sent them to their rooms in case something bad was going to happen between them and their mom. But Vanessa didn't seem afraid of her mother at all though.

"I was with a friend," Vanessa simply said, folding her arms with a blank stare.

"For FIVE HOURS? Do you have any idea what time it is, huh?" Beatrice spat in her face. Her nose was inches close to the nine year old's face. Vanessa clenched her fists, ready to throw a punch in case Beatrice does something. She glanced up at the nearest clock and saw that it was: Nine O' Clock. Wow. When Nadine arrived at her house, her mother didn't seem to have a problem with it at all. She actually invited Vanessa to her house for some chocolate chip cookies, but she dismissed it as quick as she can. Even though she IS friends with Nadine, that doesn't mean they're going to hang out everyday actually.

"Yeah, it's nine. So what? It's not the end of the world. There's other kids who arrive at home more later than others, you know and their parents seem to have no problem with it." Vanessa mumbled, padding away from her angry mother to the kitchen. She grabbed a green cup out of the covers and poured some Pepsi into the cup. Beatrice narrowed her eyes at the girl in anger.

"They're _not_ my kids. I'm your mother, and if I tell you to come home at a certain time then you'll come home! _Tú entiendes?!"_ She slammed her fist on the dirty counters, glaring at Vanessa still. She stared at her back with no speck of emotion whatsoever. The girl just simply took a sip of her pop and blinked a couple of times. "Do you understand what I'm talking about? I don't want your _ass_ outside late at night again! Whatever you were doing, it probably didn't matter to me or your family! You know the rules! You only stay out at night to bring food and earn money, but I guess you forgot all about that. No more hanging out with your friends, because it's just a waste of time.." Beatrice finally left the kitchen to her room.

"Why do you care anyway? You're too lazy to get a job to even care for us. Who's been feeding the family, washing our clothes and everything? Huh? Oh, right. Sol! She was the only mother figure we ever had and now she's gone! But you don't care, because you're so busy up in your room prancing around with your undies and alcohol. And now Alex and I have to do all the work, because you're too lazy to even help us or find a job!" Vanessa snarled back at her mom, dropping the green cup to the floor. She didn't care that the floor was just washed a couple of hours ago. She was fed up with the pain that Beatrice caused them and is ready to snap back at her.

" _Quiete_.." Beatrice hissed.

"Yeah, you can't really handle it, because it's the truth! You have done nothing to help us whatsoever just because you're sooo upset that _papá_ left the family! All because of _you_!" Vanessa screamed back. Her face was now red. As soon as those words came out, Beatrice slapped her across the face with all her might. Her face stung, like a thousand bees attacking at once. Tears welled up her eyes, and she felt herself starting to take deep breaths to calm herself down.

"I said shut up, you little _whore_ ," Beatrice growled, leaving the kitchen. "And clean up that spilled pop or else I'm going to get the cinto and use it on your ass.." Vanessa stood where she is, wiping the tears off her face. She promised herself that she'll never cry in front of anybody. Alex glanced at her before walking slowly upstairs without saying a word.

She was _alone_. Alone in the dark kitchen with no light or soul in sight..

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Vanessa shoved her books in her locker, shutting it lightly. It was finally three o'clock and they can all head home. Vanessa wasn't really looking forward to going home after that terrible fight she had with her mom last night. The worst part was that it's now the weekend and she has to put up with all her mom's crap.

"Hi Vanessa," a soft voice greeted her. Vanessa spun around face to face with Nadine. A cold shiver ran down her back.

"Hi." She simply said with a cold stare as she walked away from the blonde. But Nadine didn't gave up so easily, so she ran up to her hoping that Vanessa would accept the invitation she was going to give her.

"So are you going?" Nadine wondered with hopeful eyes. She walked beside her friend and a grin spread across her face. Vanessa stopped where she was at and stared with confusion shown in her eyes. _What was she talking about?_

"Don't tell me you forgot about the meeting that we're having after school. Unfortunately, it's going to storm out today so we're going to the Mighty Pete treehouse." Nadine exclaimed happily, though Vanessa didn't look too enthusiastic about this. Did she made it pretty clear that she doesn't need to have friends to hang out with, or is it THAT hard for everyone to notice her feelings about it? Yes, because every kid in this school are stupid to notice that. For example, _Harold_ , who thinks he's so tough and strong. But he's really a true coward at heart. She tried explaining to him that she's better off alone, but he won't stop teasing her about it which was causing annoyance. But for some odd reason, she can't swallow when hearing the insults he threw at her. Earlier this morning, Harold kept pestering and annoying her in class before Mr. Simmons arrived. Being fed up with all the insults, Vanessa eventually shoved him into the brick wall and punched him repeatedly on his face in rage. _Arnold_ and _Gerald_ had to held her down, so she wouldn't damage any of the nerves or muscles in his face. Everyone didn't really talk to her after that excluding Nadine and Helga, who was only there to make fun of her.

"Look, Nadine. I made it pretty clear that I didn't want to hang out with anybody after school, okay." Vanessa sighed heavily. Fear shot up through her body as she thought about her mom.

"Ah, come on Vanessa! You told me that you were going to hang out with us today! No one even knows who you truly are, and I think this is the great opportunity for the gang to be your friend," Nadine explained with a kind smile. Vanessa stood there, tensed. _Because no one should know who I am inside._ But did Nadine forgot about what happened this morning between her and Harold or what? The two girls walked out of the school with rain slamming down their soft faces. But Vanessa didn't care. All she wanted was to get away from there.

"Fine. I'll go. But if anybody decides to annoy me on purpose, I'll-"

"No, you're not going to punch anybody, slam them into a wall, steal their lunch money, insult anyone, or steal their things. You did that to a bunch of kids at school today, and Principal Wartz didn't even notice any of that! Especially what happened to Harold today!" Nadine exclaimed. Vanessa stood there with her hand on her hip.

"Okay, whatever. Let's just go." They both walked down the streets, passing by people who were either stress or in a good mood. The cars were driving more slowly, because the rain started to pour even harder. Vanessa was soak and wet, but she didn't mind. Neither did Nadine who acted like this was all normal.

" _Hey Nadine._ " They both turned around by the familiar voice and they were faced with _Rhonda_ who held a velvet umbrella to cover her from the storm. She wore a long, purple raincoat with black boots to go with it. Her black hair was dripping with rain for some reason. When her hazel eyes flicked to Vanessa, hatred and fear flashed through them. Vanessa returned the same hatred towards the _princess_ of the school. Pfft princess, yeah right.

"Oh, hi Rhonda. Are you going to the treehouse today?" Nadine greeted her back, oblivious with the glares her friends are flashing. _Please say no. I don't want to deal with you and fight with you as I'm there._

"Yeah, sure I don't care.." Rhonda snapped. Her friend was taken back by the tone of voice she just used on her, not knowing exactly why she just snapped at her. _Oh, because she dislikes Vanessa a lot._ Nadine couldn't blame her actually, but she knew it was because of things going on in Vanessa's life. She wished she would help them, but Vanessa just shrugged it off and wanted to help herself and own family.

"Hmm, well okay then. Vanessa and I were on our way there. Is everyone else going also?" Nadine wondered with a smile. Rhonda just rolled her eyes in annoyance when her friend mentioned Vanessa's name.

"What's the matter, huh? Am I not too _fancy_ to be hanging out with you guys or what?" Vanessa smirked, gazing at the rich girl.

"That's NOT the problem I have. It's _you_ that I don't like specifically. Seriously, Vanessa. Have you seen yourself?" Rhonda spat back.

"Yes, I'm pretty aware of who I am and to answer your question, that's really none of your business," Vanessa snarled. The two girls glared at each other with their lips slightly drawn back in anger. Nadine got in between them, pushing them lightly on their chest.

"Guys, stop. We're almost there." She pointed with a tan finger to a tree house that stood a few feet away from them. A lighting stroke, showing it up more clearly from the pounding rain. Vanessa blinked a couple of times at the _thing_ with a blank stare. A sign stood in front of it, painted in a yellowish-green color with a messy brush:

 ** _Mighty Pete Tree_**

The three girls walked together towards the tree, ignoring the roaring thunder that clapped around them.

"This is it?" Vanessa muttered questioningly, looking in disgust at the tree. _Pfft, a child's play. Just what I expected_

"Noooo." Rhonda sarcastically replied with her eyes away from her.

"Rhonda, stop it. Vanessa doesn't want to be tolerating with your guys' teasing today." Nadine defended.

"Then why is she hanging out with us today, huh? None of the gang even likes her that much, so we're going to tease her after what happened today." Rhonda simply said, folding her arms. Vanessa just rolled her eyes.

"Because I invited her!" Nadine exclaimed.

"Why? Nadine, have you met her? All she does is push everyone around her and snap when someone comes near her! She's like another Helga Pataki in this school. This is totally unbelievable." Rhonda growled.

"Well, you're the one who made that rude comment about her clothes yesterday. So honestly, I can't blame her.."

"Nadine, you're my best friend! You're suppose to be on my side, not hers!"

"What do you mean "sides?" I'm not on either side! I just want everyone to get along with her."

"UGH! Whatever!" Rhonda snapped. The raven-haired girl padded towards the tree house, disgusted with the squishing noise beneath her boots. Nadine rolled her eyes, pulling Vanessa to come inside. They climbed up the ladders trying not to slip. Rhonda did slipped with a yelp, but managed to get to the top before the other two girls. Vanessa stood by the small door, waiting impatiently for one of them to open the door.

"Who's all coming?" Nadine asked her friend.

"Ookay, let's see," Rhonda mumbled as she closed up her umbrella and lied in on the balcony, "Hmm. Well, I know Arnold is coming of course. He said there's something important he needs to tell us, for some reason. But anyways, Gerald is coming, Phoebe, Helga, Harold, Stinky. And who else?" She scratched her head, trying to figure out who was coming. Vanessa was about to groan impatiently until she finally continued. " _Park_ , _Iggy, Sheena_ , _Eugene_ , _Curly_ , _Peapod Kid_ , and Sid." She mumbled the last name in a whisper, seeing if a smile will creep on Nadine's face. But nothing appeared. She only rolled her eyes in irritation. Vanessa, on the other hand, wasn't really familiar with the names Park, Iggy, or Peapod Kid. And who names their kid… _Peapod Kid_? Man, everyone in this school has the strangest names ever!

"Why is Park, Iggy, and Peapod Kid even coming anyway? They're not in our class," Nadine told her with a questioning gaze.

"Oh, I invited them earlier this morning because they really needed to do something today. Their parents are going to be busy today. Plus why does it even matter?" Rhonda answered back with a smirk. _Or maybe because this meeting needed more cool kids or something_.

"Okay then.. Man, what's taking so-" The entrance door finally opened to reveal Arnold's football face.

"Hey girls, what's up?" Arnold wondered with a kind smile.

"Uhhh, waiting for you to get us out of this rain, duh.." Rhonda answered back, jumping as thunder boomed once more. It echoed through the sky.

"Oh, sorry Rhonda heh heh," He finally opened the door wide, letting Nadine and Rhonda to come in. But Vanessa stood where she was, observing what it will look like inside. Kind of like a cabin since it was made out of beautiful brown wood with chairs and tables around a counter. It had windows and a few drawings on the walls. It was pretty huge for a tree house, but not as a house. Vanessa finally stepped inside and she started sweating when there were more kids. They were sitting by their friends, waiting for Arnold to speak about what's happening. All they were doing was mumbling to each other and laughing. Nadine chatted along with Phoebe, Rhonda, and some red-haired girl with two braids and bright blue eyes like the sky. She wore a lime green dress that actually looks pretty good on her unlike Helga. Speaking of Helga, the two pigtailed girl was standing with the four girls narrowing her blue eyes at Vanessa. Vanessa stared at her back. _Eugene_ came into sight, throwing a baseball in the air catching it as it fell into his palms. He had curly, red hair with a plain white button up shirt and blue shirts. His shoes were unusual too. He was wearing socks with… flip flops?  
Harold spotted the geek walking, then a grin spread across his face. He stuck out one leg, tripping the boy over. He fell on his face. Sid, Stinky, and Iggy began to laugh their faces off at this who were all waiting for Arnold. Vanessa smacked her hand on her mouth to keep herself from laughing.

"Oww! _I'm okay.._ " _Eugene_ mumbled as he tried his best to stand up on his legs. As he succeeded, Eugene spotted Vanessa standing by the doorway with one hand on her hip. "Uhh, what… what is she doing here?" He blurted out, loud enough for everyone to hear. As soon those words came out, everyone turned their heads towards Vanessa. Everything came to silent minus the rain and thunder outside. She walked even further with a blank stare. The room was filled with uneasiness as she neared them. Harold, more specifically, had fear shown in his yellowish eyes while _Curly_ tried his best not to get noticed by the young girl.

"Uhh, hi Vanessa. Didn't know you were coming.." _Sheena_ , the tallest girl, mumbled nervously with squinted eyes.

"Yeah, I figured." Vanessa answered back with hostile eyes flicking to Nadine. She sunk a little by the fierce looking eyes.

Arnold came to the front, so he'll get everyone to pay attention to him. "Okay everyone. I know this will be different, but maybe we should show some respect to Vanessa. If she decides to be rude, then just ignore her." He reassured them.

"Just get on with it, Football Head!" Helga shouted, throwing a paper ball at his head. This caused laughter from everyone. Gerald stood beside his friend with an angry look.

"Yeah, okay Helga. Everyone, what I'm going to tell you is about what's happening lately in the city." Arnold announced.

Everyone groaned from boredom, not interested whatsoever.

"No, I'm serious! This is bad news!" Arnold exclaimed in frustration.

"Pfft, like what?" Vanessa spat. Her piercing voice silenced everyone. They all stared at her with wondering eyes. "This whole town is bad. Nothing new." She continued on. "You make this town bad.." Rhonda muttered. Vanessa growled in anger, clenching her fists.

"No, guys. I was watching the news and I heard that a very dangerous gang is coming to town soon." Arnold raised his voice, frustrated with everyone. They were now silenced now. Vanessa shuddered in fear. _They're coming._ Vanessa knew all about this since she was young. Her father fought against that gang twelve years ago when he was a cop, and then they escaped to another location being the Bahamas. After being defeated, the leader knows that they'll be back soon.

"Oh no! I heard about this!" Sid exclaimed with teeth clenched together. Everyone turned their attention towards the boy who stood there like a petrified chicken. "When I was six years old, my dad told me this bedtime story about this group of young adults who did bad stuff to other people and stole things from everyone!" His face was now filled with terror. "And then they locked everyone up in this room to disembodied the victims! WE NEED TO PREPARE OURSELVES!" Vanessa rolled her eyes. The gang doesn't lock people in a room and kill people just like that. They stole things from stores, they harassed people on the streets, bludgeoned teens with a baseball bat if they dared to refuse to retrieve them money or anything like that and worst of all, kill numerous people in town. They weren't just any gang, they're called The Crypts that cause many pain towards other people. If they want something, they WILL get it. It consists of more than thirty members which makes them even more dangerous. A shiver ran down her back when she needed her father and his crew to save everyone. The cops in this city were either idiots or not aware of what's around them.

Sid started to pace back and forth while Stinky tried to calm him down.

"Calm down, Sid. 'Dis gang probably ain't dangerous like we think it is." Stinky reassured him with a smile. Hopefully it will calm him.

"Let's pray that they're not as dangerous as Sid described," Rhonda closed her eyes tightly in fear her face turning red.

"This is terribly, terribly distressing for all of us." Peapod Kid, the kid with glasses, whimpered. Park, the boy wearing a blue sweater, nodded in agreement. Iggy, the one who wore similar clothes to Arnold except different color schemes, just rolled his eyes like it won't be a big deal.

"Wow, I never knew my day is coming to an end.." Eugene added in. He grabbed the nearest person, Curly and started shaking. Everyone else joined in the conversation, their voices raised with terror. But Vanessa stood where she was. She was stiffened by the news. Sol, her sister, experienced what just happened twelve years ago when she was only thirteen. She told them that she had to hide in the basement with her only sibling, Alex for twenty four hours until the chaos disappeared. Citizens of Hillwood had to rebuild the whole city after the destruction The Crypts caused. Tears welled up in her eyes as she realized she had to experience the same situation as them.

"Everybody, calm down," Arnold calmly ordered, and they became quiet again. He walked over towards the middle of everyone and made sure everyone was looking at him. "Look, this may seem like bad news. But I think we can stop them. I'm sure there's not as many members and they're probably not that dangerous." Vanessa was about to face palm herself in disbelief.

"Come on, Arnold. This is probably the stupidest idea yet. We're kids. What is a group of kids going to do about this? Fight against a gang with swords? Get real!" Nadine exclaimed with eyes widened. Everyone, but Curly agreed with what she just said.

"That's a terrific idea!" Curly shouted.

"Someone agrees with me." Arnold pointed towards the raven-haired boy.

Vanessa had enough with Arnold being reckless about this, so she had to stand up for what is right about this situation.

"You're… _**INSANE**_ ," she simply said with hostility heard in her voice. Arnold turned his attention towards the girl as well as the others.

"Any why is that? Got any better ideas?" Curly snapped at her with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Apparently not!" Rhonda yelled. Vanessa gritted her teeth at the two kids standing beside her. _Man, how much I wanted to punch these kids so much!_

"Yeah, Rhonda's right even though she's being a douche," Vanessa answered back with a snarl.

Nadine walked beside her friend and lied her hand on Vanessa's shoulder to calm her down, but she shrugged it off.

"Why though? Why is it insane?" Park butted in.

"Yeah! I thought it was a good idea!" Harold exclaimed. Vanessa facepalmed herself again. _These idiots don't know what they're getting themselves in. Have they ever seen a gang in real life on the news_?

"Hmm, I don't know. Maybe because we're only nine years old? Maybe because a gang is dangerous? Maybe they did many crimes in the past? Or maaaaybe because it has more than thirty members! HOW are a bunch of fourth graders going to stop them when we don't have our weapons of our own, huh? I'm telling you, you guys are nuts!" Vanessa explained with a harsh tone. As always. Everyone thought about it until Sid spoke up.

"Well no one really asked you to join us anyways. Sooo, it can just be us fighting against them.."

"You guys don't get it, do you? My father fought against them. They're called The Cryptos!" Vanessa exclaimed.

"I don't believe it when I see it.." Helga rolled her eyes.

"Actually no, he did. The Cryptos are one of the most dangerous gangs in the country and NONE of us will take them down, not a bunch of fourth graders. And I mean, _no one_ unless they have their own weapons with them. My father has fought them and beaten them to the ground with his crew twelve years ago. They caused many pain among the people in this city. It was a _genocide_. And according to my father, they're planning something. Something very tragic. Not towards anyone else, but… my dad.. I don't know what it is, but…" She trailed off, glancing at the creaky floor.

Everyone was staring at her. She knew that she scared them to death. But they had to know the truth, so they wouldn't be taken away from their own families.

"Wow, a genocide." Sid broke the silence with a panicky voice. "Dad never told me about this story before, heh heh."

"I wonder how everyone we all know today has survived this tragic." Phoebe added in.

"Whatever. All I'm saying is that your idea isn't going to stop them just like that. End of discussion." Vanessa said, looking at Arnold and Curly. He had a sad look on his face.

"Arnold's ideas always work though. He did many great things in the past," Gerald placed his hand on Arnold's shoulder with a kind smile. A flash of memories went through his mind as he thought about the things Arnold did. But that was interrupted by Vanessa.

"Guess what? If you guys want to get yourselves killed, that's your idea! But you have no idea what you're getting yourself into though." Vanessa snapped at him. She couldn't believe her own ears! They were still going to try to defeat them after explaining facts to them? Plus, Rhonda isn't capable of fighting them. Neither is Nadine, Eugene, Phoebe, and… The rest of them! They were dead meat!

"You know, maybe Vanessa is right. We can't do everything we think is right. I think what we can do is prepare ourselves before all this happens." Arnold blurted out.

"Why not just leave town? So no one wouldn't get hurt." Sid suggested with a shrug. Stinky nodded his head in agreement.

"You can't…" Vanessa answered back.

Sid glared at her confused. "Uhhh, and why not?" He wondered.

"I… Because you just can't. Hillwood citizens is their main target and you can't escape from them. It's not going to be safe." Vanessa replied back sternly. No one really seemed satisfied with her answer.

"Pfft, where are you getting all these ideas, _chica_." Helga wondered.

Vanessa narrowed her eyes. "I just told you, Helga. My dad has fought them and my older sister experienced all of this. She said that I'll never know true fear like the one she faced." She harshly replied.

"But why are _we_ the main target? What did anybody in this city ever do to them?" Eugene asked.

" **IT'S A VERY SPECIFIC PERSON, ALRIGHT**?" Vanessa shouted. Eugene jumped back, startled by this sudden reaction from her. "Let's just end this topic, so we can go." She mumbled, walking away from everyone. No one really knows what's going through her head, so they decided to change the horrific topic to something more cheerful while Vanessa sat by the window near her head to watch the rain and listen to it. Hopefully everyone understands her instead of just going out to 'murder' the gang themselves.

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Vanessa walked through the entrance of her house. She effortlessly hung her bag up on the rack, calling out: "I'm home!"

No answer.

" _Hola! Estoy en casa_!" She shouted once more, but still no answer. Usually no one in the house had nothing important to do and stayed home to do whatever they do. Since they all started school at the same time, Alex and Sandra could possibly be at their friends or whatever. But Jose seems to be the type that wouldn't do that. Sooo…

"Alex! Sandra! JOSE!" She cried, running up the stairs. It was making a lot of noise and her mother's door swung open. Beatrice stood there with a scowl on her face.

"What the hell are you doing, screaming at the top of your lungs like that?" She snarled.

Vanessa took a step back with fear creeping up her back. Not only by her mother, but what might happen to her siblings if they're gone too long. With The Cryptos returning to the city again, this caused her to worry even more.

"I'm sorry. I-I- I'm just looking for my brothers and sister. Do-do you know where they went?" She stuttered. Beatrice made a disgusted look, and just slammed the door loudly enough to make the hallway shake. Anger shot through Vanessa's body.

"Of course! When I needed you more than anything, you're just going to ignore me like that! You know? There's a reason why we hate you so much. Whenever we need your care or whatever, you ignore us like we're worthless and that we need to care for ourselves. That's not how it works! You gave birth to us, so you can show us your love and kindness towards us! A mom, and a father, should protect and love their child, not to beat them physically! And that's exactly what we don't have.. You know what? Forget it. You're messed up, you know that right? You've always been since _papa_ left us. So, I'm sorry I'm wasting your time and mine. I wish Sol was here instead of you.."

Beatrice opened the door once again, then snatched her daughter's wrist with her left hand.

"NO! OW!" She screeched as Beatrice started to beat Vanessa with her powerful wrists and nails. Vanessa cried, trying to punch her back. But it was not worth it. After a while, Beatrice stopped and crept back into her bedroom leaving Vanessa to lay there in pain from the abuse. A single tear slowly trickled down her cut up cheek and mixed with some blood that was on her face. This is exactly what she and her siblings had to deal with. The abuse and pain her mother causes them. Vanessa had no idea what it's like to be loved so much by a parent. Wiping her eyes from the tears, she stood up straight and turned to walk from the hallway to her bedroom.

Powerful scents welcomed her as she walked in. The room really wasn't huge. Whenever Sandra walked in to check up on Vanessa, she'll cringe in disgust. Mostly because she's the girly girl. The black walls had strange dark, but interesting drawings pasted all over. Band posters were also there. A red wardrobe stood by the doorway consisting of many band shirts and jeans with shoes sitting beside it and a bookshelf stood across on the other side of the wall with mysterious Goth books. What set next to it was a money jar full of twenty dollar bills. Different kinds of shelves were in her room to hold books, movies, notebooks, jewelry, pencils, nail polish and gadgets she stole from people. An electric guitar that her Aunt bought her was tilted on the shelf. The floor beneath her was a red wooden color. Of course there was a window, but brown curtains blocked it so sunlight wouldn't shine through. Vanessa didn't like the light, but prefer the darkness. A king sized bed with soft black and purple sheets welcomed her, but she walked passed it. She crept towards a full-body sized mirror on one wall and stared at herself for minutes with her arms crossed. A scar ran across her cheek including bruises all over her body. _She hated herself._ She hated everything about herself. She wasn't like kids her age. Vanessa doesn't even know how to act like one anyways. What's fun all about? How do you go out in public without being serious with the people around you? She's not protective or stern. She's _paranoid._ All she cares about is her family, and what's going on in the world… To protect them. No matter how hard everyone tries to get her to like them or hang out with them, she'll _never_ be their friend. The only person who possibly understands that is Nadine.

After minutes of staring at herself, she finally backed away and sat at the edge of the bed. She grabbed a small green notebook and began doodling. This is what she does after an awful day is doodle her feelings on a piece of paper. Whatever was on her mind, she will express it in some kind of way..

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"And yeah, that's what happened." Sandra told a story at the dinner table about some geeky boy that called her 'hot' and then punched him in the face for not being attractive enough for her. Alex rolled his eyes in disbelief at the story while Jose had no idea what she was talking about. Vanessa, on the other hand, was eating her sandwich silently. Alex panicked when he saw the bruises and scratches on her body after coming back from a friend's house, but she dismissed him immediately in anger.

"I have to tell you guys. I'm already starting to become popular with the preps and honestly, it's kind of flattering." Sandra flipped her chin-length hair smugly and smirked in satisfaction that she's finally impressing people at school. But Alex knew that the reason was for her looks, not her personality. If she wasn't as beautiful, Sandra wouldn't be popular. Her exotic beauty is what shocked people and made all the guys chase after her. Her heart-shaped face, olive skin, a pointed nose, shiny black hair, slender physique, and beautiful hazel eyes. It was what made her flawless. The girl loves to brag on how 'jealous' Vanessa is by her beauty. But she didn't care. She knows that she'll never be like Sandra with that nasty, bratty attitude of hers. Sandra faked yawn.

"Weeelll, I'm going to bed now. So sweet dreams, _nerds_.." She walked upstairs, leaving the dishes to Alex or Vanessa.

Vanessa gritted her teeth. "That little…"

"Just ignore her, Vanessa. She's not worth our time.." Alex mumbled as he walked away from the kitchen to the couch. That's where he lives since he prefers to sleep alone. With only three rooms for the kids, he doesn't like to sleep with Jose who'll kick anyone in his sleep. The young boy went upstairs to go to sleep as the others.

Vanessa stared at him with sadness in her eyes. _Poor boy._ Usually parents will read their kids a bedtime story, but there was no one for that. Vanessa walked to a bookshelf in the living room and grabbed a cheesy book of a kid fantasy about a talking train with his companion or something like that. As she head up to Jose's bedroom, the boy was already in bed. "Jose, do you want a bedtime story?" She dropped her arms in disappointment when he shook his head. She really wasn't looking forward to go to sleep after all what happened today..

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 _ **Author's Note:**_ To be honest, this story was suppose to be about how Vanessa makes friends with the kids of PS 118 and show what her life is like. But I decided to add some _conflict_ to it and what really pushes them to grow attach to her. By teamwork ^^; heh heh. If you noticed, I kind of added SidxNadine and perhaps, EugenexCurly. ._. _Don't kill me please.._ I'm working on Chapter 4 now. :) And sorry if this chapter seems choppy, I wanted the story to deal with what problems that are going on such as Vanessa's mom, A dangerous gang coming to town, making enemies with some of the kids, and everything.

You know, I sort of what a theme song for this story. I'm thinking Cross-Eyed Catastrophe by Suicide Silence, Thoughtless by Evanescence, Forbidden Line by Eyes Set To Kill, Human Race by Three Days Grace, Demons (or Radioactive) by Imagine Dragons or Decode by Paramore. Hmm. I just have to look deeper into the meanings and find out. :I

*SPOILERS* To answer burn-a-dark-soul5000, I kind of wanted them to start off as enemies and showing hatred towards each other at first, but as the story goes on, it'll take some little time for them to be friends near the end. So don't worry, they'll be good friends for awhile. ^_^ But Vanessa will remain enemies with Rhonda. ;-;


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